Of broad and domed ovular form with large pine-cone like finial. Decorated along the sides with garland designs, centered with small oval reserves bearing the initials JRS; above which on each side is a Memorial reading Washington at its base and with an American Eagle on top, alongside a willow tree. All finely painted in sepia and orange tones, with highlights in gilt.
Length: 11 ¾ inches (30 cm.)
Width: 8 ½ inches (21.5 cm.)
Provenance: Mottahedeh Collection; and later, the Doris and Leo Hodroff Collection
With collection labels of each on the underside in addition to old numbered labels.
Note: This cover is part of a famed Chinese export service made for the American market in the very beginning of the 19th century. All pieces from this service depict the same subject, presumed to be George Washington’s tomb, after his death on December 14, 1799. Pieces from this service include an octagonal plate in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (illustrated by Le Corbellier, China Trade Porcelain: Patterns of Exchange, New York, 1974, pp.118-119, cat. no. 50. The monogram is that of Joseph Sims, involved in the China Trade, and Rebecca, his wife, of Philadelphia. This attribution was made after the discovery of a hand written provenance note accompanying three examples of the service that were donated to Kenmore, a plantation house museum in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
